Does anyone know if there is any kind of bicycle insurance in the US to cover against loss/theft? This kind of insurance appears to be fairly commonplace in the rest of the world but, I haven't seen anything specific to this here in the US.

Lisa is correct but you will want to double check with them on what the coverage is - and may need to purchase a rider if you have yourself a sweet road or tri bike (i.e. something that is a lot more expensive than a "ten speed"). Whoever handles your homeowners/renters policy should be able to help you out with this.

Unfortunately, as many of you know, I became acquainted with this issue yesterday. (Oli will post later with a description of his stolen bike.)

Yes, homeowners/renters insurance generally covers theft/loss. It is worth calling your insurance company to confirm and find out what your deductible is. Mine was $1000, and it turns out that for an additional $9/year I changed it to $250.

Props to USAA for handling his claim quickly and without hassle. Not only are they giving him the replacement cost including all of the accessories (by direct deposit in the next couple of days), but they did not require documentation. They just took his word for what it was worth over the phone. How cool is that?

I checked into this when I bought my tri bike last year. State Farm told me that I was covered with my regular renter's insurance. They said that I could also specifically insure the bike but the annual premium was over $300 - more than my renter's insurance policy.

My old road bike was totaled in a car vs bike accident in 2006. The driver's insurance company (also State Farm) was a stickler for receipts. They would not accept any estimate of what something was worth - if I didn't have a receipt I wasn't getting reimbursed (and even then they tried to pay the depreciated cost of the bike, not the replacement value but that's a separate story). Now I keep the owner's manual for every bike I have and staple the receipt of every major purchase (helmets, bars, saddles, upgrades) to the inside cover.

Finally, a cop friend of mine suggested that everyone should spend 5 minutes walking through their house with a video camera, narrating the entire time ("This is my Panasonic TV. These are the contents of my closet.") Most digital cameras have video capabilities so this is an easy task. He said it makes police reports and insurance dealings soooo much simpler to have that video on hand.